Eric Liu
Eric Liu, of Seattle served as a speechwriter for President Clinton, and is the founder of Citizen University, a non-profit organization working to foster a strong and vibrant culture of civic engagement. His parents emigrated to the U.S. from China and worked multiple jobs while pursuing their education. Liu’s mother worked for baseball great Jackie Robinson, and his father landed a job at IBM. Liu is part of “the tradition of students from poor or immigrant backgrounds who don’t quite fit in but wind up finding their own way.” After a trip to China, where he witnessed first-hand the political repression of dissidents, Liu made the decision to devote himself to fighting civic apathy at home. He believes that when you stop participating in politics, “you cede the field to the few who would like to command the field…and don’t have your interest at heart.”